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From Rationality to Emotionally Embedded Relations: Envy as a Signal of Power in Stakeholder Relations

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Abstract

Although stakeholder salience theory has received a great deal of scholarly attention in the business ethics and management literature, the theory has been criticized for overemphasizing rationality in managerial perceptions. We argue that it is important to better understand what socially constructed emotions signal in business relations, and we posit the role of envy as a discursive resource used to signal and construct the asymmetrical power relations between small business owner–managers and their stakeholders. Our study is based on a qualitative study on discursive accounts elicited from 33 interviews with small business owner–managers in Finland. Our study makes two primary contributions. First, we suggest that socially and culturally constructed emotions (such as envy) have significance in stakeholder salience analyses. Second, we suggest that socially and culturally constructed emotions provide a fruitful context in which to understand the limitations of owner–managers’ personal and moral autonomy.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partly funded by the Academy of Finland Grant No. 259478.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylän yliopisto, Finland

    Marjo Siltaoja

  2. Ruralia Institute, University of Helsinki, Kampusranta 9C, 60320, Seinäjoki, Finland

    Merja Lähdesmäki

Authors
  1. Marjo Siltaoja
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Correspondence to Marjo Siltaoja.

Appendix

Appendix

The description of the interviewed businesses

Number of the interview

Main business activity

Year of establishment of business

Number of employees (full-time)

1

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1991

17

2

Crafts (manufacturing)

1990

2

3

Tourism (service)

1992

3

4

Tourism and food supplies (manufacturing and service)

1994

3

5

Tourism (service)

1993

13

6

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1992

2

7

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1980

2

8

Tourism (service)

1980

6

9

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1989

6

10

Engineering (service)

2002

1

11

Building (service)

1988

1

12

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1990

15

13

Engineering (service)

2002

1

14

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1962

25

15

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1995

5

16

Education (service)

1993

20

17

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1983

2

18

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1998

12

19

Administration (service)

1986

12

20

Administration (service)

1993

11

21

Administration (service)

1996

10

22

Administration (service)

1997

12

23

Marketing (service)

1996

16

24

ICT (service)

1984

10

25

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1991

23

26

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1974

30

27

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1956

8

28

Administration (service)

1988

5

29

Food supplies (manufacturing)

n.a.

30

30

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1990

2

31

Food supplies (manufacturing)

2003

2

32

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1997

10

33

Food supplies (manufacturing)

1958

14

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Siltaoja, M., Lähdesmäki, M. From Rationality to Emotionally Embedded Relations: Envy as a Signal of Power in Stakeholder Relations. J Bus Ethics 128, 837–850 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1987-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1987-5

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